🍀 Alisa 🍀
The mansion felt weird after Vanessa left.
Too quiet.
Too heavy.
Even the pancakes tasted sad.
Patrick awkwardly excused himself after trying—and failing—to lighten the mood with terrible jokes about rich people therapy.
Which left me alone with Mr Gorgeous.
Yay.
And also… not yay.
Because now I couldn't stop thinking about Vanessa's words.
He will ruin you.
I stole a glance at Damien.
He sat silently at the head of the table, scrolling through emails on his phone with a cold expression, but something about him felt… tense.
Like he was angry at himself.
Or maybe scared.
Which was weird because Damien Petersen looked like the kind of man fear personally avoided.
"You're staring again," he said without looking up.
I nearly choked on air.
"I was not."
"You were."
"No."
"Yes."
I folded my arms stubbornly. "Maybe your ego is too big."
One corner of his lips twitched.
Traitorous beautiful lips.
"I heard what Vanessa said," I blurted out before my courage disappeared.
That tiny almost-smile vanished immediately.
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Then slowly, he dropped his phone onto the table and leaned back.
"You shouldn't listen to her."
"Why?"
His eyes finally met mine.
Dark.
Tired.
"She hates me."
I frowned slightly. "Did you hurt her?"
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
"Yes."
The honesty shocked me.
Most people lied when they did bad things.
Damien simply admitted it like punishment he deserved.
"How?" I asked softly.
He looked away briefly before laughing bitterly under his breath.
"That's a long story, Sea Girl."
"I like stories."
"You wouldn't like this one."
Something painful flashed across his face before disappearing quickly.
And suddenly…
I understood.
Vanessa wasn't lying.
He really did hurt people.
But somehow…
The saddest part was that he looked more destroyed by it than anyone else.
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🌿 Damien 🌿
This was exactly why I hated people from my past showing up unexpectedly.
Vanessa had planted doubt in Alisa's mind.
And now she looked at me differently.
More carefully.
Like she was trying to decide whether I was dangerous.
Smart girl.
She should run while she still could.
Instead, she sat across from me wearing that stupid oversized sweater while staring at me with worried eyes.
Worried.
About me.
That alone made no sense.
"You should stay away from me."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Alisa blinked slowly. "What?"
I leaned back in my chair tiredly.
"You heard me."
"No, I didn't. My ears rejected it."
Despite everything, I almost smiled again.
Dangerous girl.
"Vanessa was right about one thing," I said quietly. "I ruin people."
Her brows furrowed immediately. "That's dramatic."
"It's true."
"No." She shook her head stubbornly. "You're just sad and angry."
I laughed humorlessly.
"You don't know anything about me."
"Then tell me."
My chest tightened instantly.
No.
Absolutely not.
No one got close enough to know those things anymore.
Not after what happened.
Not after blood and screaming and hospitals and death certificates—
I shut my eyes briefly.
Wrong memories.
Wrong fucking memories.
"Damien?"
Her voice softened slightly.
I stood up immediately.
"Forget this conversation."
Then I walked away before she could see too much.
Before she could see how badly my hands were shaking.
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🍀 Alisa 🍀
I found him in the garden an hour later.
Because apparently Mr Gorgeous liked suffering dramatically in the rain now.
He stood beneath one of the willow trees staring into space while rain soaked through his black clothes completely.
Honestly?
He looked like a depressed billionaire vampire in a music video.
I marched toward him angrily with an umbrella.
"You'll catch a cold."
"I don't care."
"Well I do."
He glanced at me briefly before looking away again.
The rain tapped softly against the umbrella while silence settled between us.
Then finally—
"Why are you here?" he asked quietly.
I shrugged. "Because you looked lonely."
Something about those words made him freeze.
Completely.
Then slowly…
Painfully slowly…
He laughed under his breath.
Not a happy laugh.
The kind that sounded broken.
"You shouldn't say things like that to me."
"Why?"
His eyes met mine again.
Because I swear…
One day those eyes would kill me.
"Because you'll make me start believing them."
My heart squeezed painfully.
Rainwater slid down his face while he stared at me like he wanted to say something else.
Something important.
But instead, he just looked away again.
"I'm not good for you, Alisa."
The way he said my name made my stomach flip.
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"No," I argued softly. "You only think you do."
His jaw tightened.
"You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
He looked exhausted suddenly.
Like carrying invisible pain nobody else could see.
Then quietly…
Almost too quietly…
He said:
"The people I love don't survive."
My breath caught instantly.
Oh.
Oh my God.
That wasn't self-hatred talking anymore.
That was fear.
Real fear.
Before I could respond, Damien suddenly stepped back.
Like he regretted saying too much already.
"You should go inside."
I stared at him for a long moment.
At the sadness hiding behind his cold expression.
At the loneliness practically pouring out of him.
Then carefully…
Very carefully…
I reached out and grabbed his hand.
He froze instantly.
Rain fell harder around us.
But neither of us moved.
His hand was cold.
Tense.
Like he wasn't used to being touched gently.
"You're shaking," I whispered softly.
His eyes widened slightly.
Like he didn't even realize it himself.
"You don't have to be scared of me," I told him quietly.
A painful look crossed his face.
"Sea Girl…"
"You won't ruin me."
That broke him a little.
I saw it happen right there in his eyes.
Like my words reached some damaged part of him nobody else could touch.
And suddenly…
Damien looked at me like I was dangerous too.
Not because I could hurt him.
But because I could heal him.